The inspiration for Project Hope and Fairness started  in 2003 when Tom Neuhaus taught a course with the goal of helping nutrition students learn about culinary cultures at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). Tom's research into the ethical sourcing of chocolate found that cacoa farmers of West Africa made very little money from their crop, villagers lived in abject poverty, and child labor was common. ​

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2003 to 2012:

• While traveling to Peru and visiting cacoa farmers Tom started thinking in terms of the cocoa and chocolate value chain.

• Tom visited 15 villages every year in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon. Each time he brought tools to improve safety and consistently took photos to use in lectures about these experiences.

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2006:  Founding of Project Hope and  Fairness

• PH&F formally recognized as a non-profit by the IRS. This allowed PH&F to raise money through donations.

 

2011: Transition to business and support of West African cacoa farming villages

• Two village chiefs, Guinea Tape Francois of Pezoan and Justin Dédé of Depa suggested PH&F build a rice hulling center to spare women the hours required to decorticate rice by mortar and pestle.

• The first big donation -- $10,000 was needed to fund this goal. Tom showed the movie, “Dark Side of Chocolate” at his home and Celia Zaentz, a local film producer attending the showing, gave PH&F the money to begin this first big project.

• In addition to building the rice hulling center a small room for making chocolate was completed.

 

2012 - 2023:  First Village chocolate production established in Depa (SOCOPLAN)

• David Zigro established a cooperative and thanks to PH&F donors, he purchased the tools to make chocolate, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder.

• SOCOPLAN became known for its quality chocolate and cocoa butter thanks to the contributions of JP Bolou and Jerôme Kouakou.

• David showed off his bars at the Salon de Paris in 2022 and subsequently in Morocco.

 

2019: Second Village chocolate production established in Pezoan (SCAP)

• Evariste Plegnon put Tom in touch with Adama Yamba (AKA Servando). PH&F built a two-room facility to house a rice hulling machine and a room for tempering and molding chocolate.

• Servando quickly became an expert at making fudge-filled bars; he is a master at tempering and has since won awards for the quality of his products.

 

2023:  Cocoa production training center established 

• PH&F provided equipment and facilities to manufacture chocolate from the beans of the five local cooperatives and to develop classes in cacoa-growing best practices using agroforestry techniques.

 

2023: Projet Espoir et Equité:

• Tom opened a small retail store in Cordes-sur-Ciel, France in order to promote the brand Chocolat des Villages (CdV), aspiring to sell the Chocolat des Villages throughout the EU.

• Tom also works on chocolate product testing and development for the brand.

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2025: Refined village service model and hired in-country leader

• Reviewed lessons learned from initial village-cooperative experiences

• To build on the Chocolat des Village brand we transitioned from US directed management and production model to an Ivorian based model; hiring Ivory Coast based personnel to manage production, create new products, and market and sell products.

• Tom retired as PH&F Founder/CEO and PH&F transitioned to an in-country leader, Alexis Anouan who has deep experience in cocoa coops and project management.

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2026: Chocolat des Village formed to expand scale and scope

• Following government requirements for an organization to purchase and process large volumes of cocoa beans, PH&F incorporated Chocolat des Villages (Village Chocolate) in Côte d'Ivoire

• The incorporation of Chocolat de Village dedicates the operation to help cocoa farmers and villages boost their incomes and improve quality of life.